Springboard and mounting therefor



1956 c. J. KLEIN SPRINGBQARD AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed June 1, 1.955

| T I llll lllllI lllll L I l l I I l CONRAD J KLEIN lNl/EN7DR HUEBNER,BEEHLER WORREL 8 HERZ/G United States Patent v srRrNGnoARn AND THEREFORConrad J. Klein, Fresnoyflalif. I Application June 1, 1953, Serial plasant;

' norm. 01. 272-66) 7 The present invention relates to-ao improvedspringboard and, mounting therefor and, more. particularly, to againers, flips, one-and-a halves, twistsand thev various comfinationsthereof, require even grfller height; and. more time in the air forproper execution.

' While the three meter and. thelen feel; .sjpringboards provideadequate heightv and time for the'proper execution or most dives, exceptin excessive multiples, the regulation one meter and the three feetspringboar'ds'. compel constant effort to attain maximum. height foreach .dive, it precision of execution is to be permitted, While everyexhibition diver encounters this difiiculty, divers. who are lightweight find it particularly difilcult to attain desired height. Ifspringhoar'ds are made, quitethin to. aid light. weight divers, theybecome entirely unsatisfactory for average. or heavy divers.

The constant striving by divers for maximum height subjects thespringboarcls, to severe strain and their replacement normallyconstitutes a major item: of expense in swimming pool maintenance.

'Her'etofore the most popular springboarrls have been formed of hard,spr'ingy wood such as hickoryj or birch. Such springboards are ofelongated rectangular form and taper from an anchor end of maximumthickness to an extended end of minimum thickness commensurate with Stength requirements. Such springhoards are usually mounted on a'pair ofsubstantially parallel, inverted U- shaped pipe, members by clamping theanchor end of the board to one ofthe pipe members and resting- :theboard at a position intermediate opposite endslthe reof; on the oppositepipe member. The pipe member to which the anchor end of the boardisfastnedf is referred to as the anchor and the opposite, pipe member.as; the support. Most springboard breakage occurs;v near the springboards 'pport' over which the flexing of the board is etfected l' i ig l Y lI v I o ect of the present invention isjto provide an improvedspringboard and mounting therefore suited to the attainment ofincreased. height ii diving therefrom as compared. with conventionalspringboards and mountings. Another objectis to provide a-com-hinedspringboard and support therefor which makes possible the attainment ofmaximum height by even light-Weight divers-without impairing the heightattainable-by heavier-divers;

Another object is, to provide a. resilient support for .spri ngboards,

Another object is; to providesan improvedtsprizigboard support which canbe substituted, lfor conventionahspring- ,haiented ard u po w h a t r'nd inter venience.

Another object is to provide an improved springboard I support which canbe substituted for conyentionalfspringboard supports simply by cuttingupright posts of cont nal ome n Sliding he wer Q? the Pres n inventiondownwardly thereover. t

1" a a n is to in m ze h re k o sta nshoards.

'4 Another object is; to provide a springboard supportof the characterand .for. the purposes set forth that is economical to construct,durable in form, and which can be installed by eventhe most unskilledlabor.

Further objects d adv n a e ill becom epresen in the subsequentdescription in the specification."

In thev drawing:

Fig. l isa sectional perspective of a swimming pool having a springboardand support therefore mounted adjacent thereto.

Fig. 2 is-a section taken on line 2 -2 of Fig. 1 showing the support ofthe present invention in elevation.

Fig, 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring in greater detail to the. drawing:

A swimming pool is, indicated generally at 10 illustrative of a;suitable environment for the springboard and mounting of thepresentinvention. A slab of concrete, 11 adjacent to the pool representsa suitable base: for the springboard mounting. I

A pair of substantially parallel pipes 13 are embedded in the concrete11 in corresponding spaced relation to the pool 10 and upwardly extendedfrom the concrete in parallel relation. An elbow '14 is mounted on the.upper endofeach of the pipes 13 and the elbowsinterconnect'ed by anipple 1 5. The pipes 1 3, elbows 14 and nipple 15 constitute a springboard anchor of well-known form.

A springboard support embodying the principles of the present inventionis-indicate'd generally at 16. A pair of posts 17- are rigidly mountedi'n'the' concrete 11in parallel spaced relation and upwardly extendedtherefrom intermediate the pipes 13 and the'pool 10. Inasmuch asconventional springboard supports usually duplicate the structuredescribed for the springboard anchor, the posts 17ar'e readilymadeavailable by simply cutting the pipes of the conventional support incorrespondingpositionsin upwardly spaced relation to the concrete. Innew instalpipes embedded guides or housingszl are slidably fitted to theperiphery of the'flanges 20 concentrically of their flanges respectiveposts and each provides a lower end portion rested on the concrete andan upper end portion adjacent to the upper end of it's respectivelyadjacent post. While the flanges Z Ware. s own as weldably secured toboth their posts 17 and their spring. housings 21,1r'wi11' be apparentthat such double securing is not required but simply vachieves a morereadily handled entity which can be packaged,- shipped, sold andinstalled with a minimum of inconvenience.

A helical compression spring '23'is mounted concentrically on each ofthe posts 17' within said posts respee. tive spring housings 21. Eachspring has a lower end portion rested on the flange circumscribing itspost and an 1 upper end upwardly extended tram the post. Asubstanmetrically on each of the plates 25.

forces imposed thereon.

at this point.

'the sprin s the upwardly extended end portion of each spring housing,as best shown in Fig. 3. Substantially circular cap plates 25 arerigidly mounted in closing relation to the upwardly extended endportions of the telescopic sleeves and are rested on the upwardlyextended ends of the springs 23 therein.

- A semi-cylindrical receptacle 27, such as a longitudinally dividedsegment of a pipe nipple, is positioned dia- The receptacles are axiallyaligned and a substantially horizontal rest bar 28 positioned therein,as best shown in Pig. 3. The rest bar preferably provides asubstantially cylindrical periphery and is conveniently formed from thelength of pipe, tubing, or the like of sufficient strength to resist theA bolt 29 is upwardly extended centrally through each of the plates 25and diametrically through the receptacle and rest bar positionedthereon. Nuts 30 screw-threadably mounted on the upper ends of the boltstighten the receptacles and the rest bar 23 down wardly against theplates with the telescopic sleeves 24 in substantially parallelrelation.

A springboard 31 of well-known form is shown in Fig. 1 having an anchorend secured to the nipple and a portion intermediate opposite endsthereof supported on the rest bar 28. The springboard is secured to theanchor by any suitable means such as a clamp 32 overlaying thespringboard and having a pair of bolts 33 downwardly extended therefromon opposite sides of the nipple 15 at each side of the springboard. Ashackle 34- is positioned on each pair of bolts beneath the nipple andtightened upwardly thereagainst by nuts 35 mounted on the bolts.

Operation The operation of the apparatus of the present invention isbelieved to be clearly apparent and is briefly summarized If thespringboard support 16 is to be mounted in a new installation, the posts17 are embedded in the concrete 11 in the positions described. If thesupport is to replace a conventional support, the posts .17 are providedby cutting upright pipes of such conventional support in spaced relationto the concrete.

The support including the mounting sleeves 19, flanges 20, springs 23,spring housings 21, telescopic sleeves 24, plates 25, rest bar 23 andmounting means 27, 29 and 30 are made available as a unit and installedin operable position simply by sliding the mounting sleeves 19downwardly over the posts 17. It is sometimes necessary to vary thelengths of the rest bars 23 utilized so as to fit the device to thespacing of existing posts. In position, the lower ends of the mountingsleeves l9 and spring housings 21 are rested on the concrete and therest bar ort 16 in the usual manner by stridin toward the end of thespringboard disposed over the pool and jumping thereon to achievemaximum height upon reflex action of and the board. Not only does thespringilicli of the springboard 31 aid in the attainment like on ofmaximum height but the springs 33 exercise a substantial upward throwingforce which makes possible the attainment of adequate heights by evenlight divers. The resilience of the sgrii s also provides a shock absoring feature which reduces the L In on the springboard incident to thejumping action the-con while actually increasing the throwingcapabilities of the spring board.

n existing installation. the support of the present invention hassubstantially reduced the expenses incident to springboard replacement,has made possible improved diving, particularly from the relatively lowspringboards such as the regulation one meter and the three feetspringboards, and achieves these advantages Without so 4 alfecting thetiming as to interfere with diving. The supports are economical toproduce, easy to install, and thoroughly eifective in accomplishingtheir intended pur poses.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details dis closed hereinbut is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A portable springboard support adapted for releasable mounting on apair of substantially parallel posts comprising a pair of mountingsleeves adapted for slidable mounting on such posts, a spring housingpositioned in circumscribing relation to each of the mounting sleeves, aspring stop in circumscribing relation to each of the mounting sleeveswithin their respective spring housings mounted in fixed positionintermediate opposite ends of their respective mounting sleeves, atelescopic member slidably mounted on corresponding ends of each of thespring housings and each having a closed end in spaced relation to theend of the spring housing on which it is mounted, a compression springmounted within each of the spring housings each having an end engagedwith its housiugs respective spring stop and an opposite end engagedwith the closed end of the telescopic member mounted thereon, and arigid rest member interconnecting the telescopic members insubstantially parallel relation.

2. In combination with an elongated springboard, a pair of parallelposts rigidly mounted in substantially erect position, a mounting sleeveslidably fitted over each post, a substantially circular flange rigidlymounted concentrically on each sleeve in equally spaced relation to theupper ends of their respective sleeves, a substantially cylindricalspring housing rigidly mounted on each flange concentrically of itsrespective sleeve and having upper and lower end portions, a telescopicsleeve slidably fitted over the upper end portion of each springhousing, a helical compression spring mounted in circumscribing relationon the upper end portion of each mounting sleeve within its mountingsleeves respective spring housing and telescopic sleeve having a lowerend portion rested on the flange and an upper end portion upwardlyextended from its mounting sleeve, a cap plate rigidly mounted inclosing relation to the upper end of each telescopic sleeve rested onthe upper end of the compression spring contained therein, asubstantially horizontal rest bar having opposite ends mounted on thecap plates, the rest bar supporting the springboard intermediateopposite ends thereof, and an anchor connected to an end portion of thespringboard maintaining said end portion at a predetermined elevation.

3. A springboard support comprising a pair of mounting sleeves, a pairof substantially cylindrical spring housings individually locatedsubstantially concentrically of the mounting sleeves and having oppositeends adjacent to the opposite ends of their respective mounting sleeves,a pair of circular flanges individually positioned concentrically on themounting sleeves within their respective spring housings and rigidlymounted in corresponding positions intermediate opposite ends of theirrespective sleeves, a pair of telescopic sleeves individually mounted onthe spring housings for slidable movement longitudinally thereof andcorrespondingly endwardly extended therefrom, a pair of helicalcompression springs individually mounted concentrically on the mountingsleeves within their respective telescopic sleeves each having an endengaged with its respective mounting sleeves flange and an opposite endextended from its said respective sleeve, plates mounted on the extendedends of the telescopic sleeves in engagement with the springs therein,

and a springboard rest bar having opposite ends connected to the platesrigidly maintaining the telescopic sleeves and their respective springhousings and mounting sleeves in substantially parallel relation.

4. A springboard support, adapted to fit over a pair of substantiallyparallel erect posts, for releasable retention in operable positioncomprising a pair of substantially parallel mounting sleeves havingpredetermined upper and lower ends, a substantially circular flangemounted concentrically on each mounting sleeve, the flanges beinglocated at corresponding positions intermediate opposite ends of theirrespective sleeves, a substantially cylindrical spring guide rigidlymounted on each flange concentrically of its respective mounting sleevehaving predetermined upper and lower ends adjacent to the predeterminedupper and lower ends of its respective mounting sleeve, a telescopicsleeve slidably fitted to the predetermined upper end of each springguide and endwardly extended therefrom, a helical compression springmounted in circumscribing relation on the predetermined upper end ofeach mounting sleeve within its respective spring guide having an endengaged against the flange of its respective mounting sleeve and an endextended from its mounting sleeve, a cap rigidly mounted in closingrelation to the extended end of each telescopic sleeve in engagementwith the extended end of the spring therein, and a rest bar havingopposite ends connected to the caps of the telescopic sleeves insubstantially right angular relation to said sleeves.

5. In combination with a substantially fiat base member having a pair ofsubstantially parallel erect posts upwardly extended therefrom, aspringboard supporting device comprising a mounting sleeve slidablymounted on each of the posts each having a lower end rested on the baseand an upwardly extended end, a substantially cylindrical spring housinglocated concentrically on each sleeve each having a lower end rested onthe base and an upwardly extended end adjacent to the upper end of itsrespective post, an annular flange interconnecting each of the sleeveswith its respective spring housing, the flanges being in correspondingspaced relation to the upper ends of their respective spring housings, ahelical spring mounted concentrically on each of the mounting sleeveshaving a lower end rested on its mounting sleeves respective flange andan upper end extended upwardly from the upper end of its sleeve andadjacent spring housing, a telescopic sleeve slidably mounted on theupwardly extended end portion of each spring housing each having anupper end in upwardly spaced relation to the upper end of its respectivespring housing, a circular plate mounted in closing relation to theupper end of each telescopic sleeve, an upwardly disposedsemi-cylindrical receptacle positioned axially diametrically on each ofthe plates, an elongated substanq tially cylindrical spring board resthaving opposite end portions disposed in the receptacles, bolts upwardlyextended centrally through the plates and diametrically through theirrespective receptacles and the end portions of the rest therein, andnuts screw-threadably mounted on the upwardly extended end portions ofthe bolts tightened downwardly on the rest mounting the rest on theplates with the telescopic sleeves in substantially parallel relation.

6. A springboard support comprising a pair of elongated tubular springhousings, means mounting the spring housings in substantially erectparallel spaced relation, telescopic members slidably fitted over thespring housings, a compression spring mounted in each of the springhousings each having a lower end supported in fixed position in itsrespective housing and an upper end having supporting engagement withthe telescopic member fitted over its respective housing, and a rigidrest member interconnecting the telescopic members.

7. A portable springboard support, for releasable mounting on a pair ofsubstantially parallel posts rigidly extended upwardly from a supportsurface, comprising a tubular housing releasably positionable incircumscribing relation on each post with each housing having a lowerend rested on the support surface, a helical compression spring mountedin each housing in circumscribing relation to its respective housingspost and having a lower end supported in its housing and an upper endextended upwardly from its housing and post, a tubular telescopic memberslidably mounted on each housing each having a closed upper end restedon the upper end of the spring of its respective housing, and a rigidrest member interconnecting the telescopic members.

8. A portbale springboard support for releasable mounting on a pair ofsubstantially parallel posts rigidly mounted in upright position on asupport surface comprising a mounting sleeve slidably mounted on eachpost and gravitationally supported on the support surface, a pair ofelongated tubular telescopic spring housing means, means mounting thespring housing means in concentric circumscribing relation on eachmounting sleeve with an upper end of each housing means extendedupwardly above its respective mounting sleeve, a compression springmounted in each housing means about its respective mounting sleeve andhaving a lower end supported in its respective mounting means and anupper end engaged with the upper end of its respective housing means insupporting relation thereto, and a substantially horizontal rigid restinterconnecting the upper ends of the housing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

